A thousand islands: the lost treasure of Bill Johnstone, Pirate…
Chapter 9: Pieces of eight.
A Revolution fic (No blackout Au): Sebastian (Bass) Monroe/Charlotte (Charlie) Matheson; Charloe. Jeremy Baker, Connor Bennet, Will Strausser, Scanlon, Bill and Rebecca O'Halloran.
Charlie is used to the limelight… as a daytime TV weather girl, she is sent all over the world talking about the weather in Chicago and the US while hugging Koalas in Australia or sky diving in Nepal. Then she fell in love with her bodyguard Sebastian Monroe and found a whole new kind of adventure. In this story, Charlie and Bass are just married and are off on a sailing trip to the Thousand Islands of the St Lawrence River between New York and Canada for their honeymoon – where they fall headlong into a new adventure and solve a mystery…
Rating M
Author's note: Thank you so much for reading and staying to the end of the story (which was a LONG time coming), I hope you've enjoyed the ride back to the Thousand Eyes universe and I really hope you like the way this ends, Lemon :) cheers and bye for now, Magpie
A thousand islands: the lost treasure of Bill Johnstone, Pirate.
Chapter 9: Pieces of eight.
The sea plane landed with barely a splash, looking almost graceful as Miles coasted it gently towards the island jetty where Bass, Will and Penny were waiting.
Will smirked, nodding at the plane as Miles and Duncan disembarked. 'That was a nice landing. You'd never guess he spent the last few days and nights playing poker.'
Bass chuckled, 'he's in a good mood. He won.'
Penny lifted a hand up to shade her eyes, squinting at the plane. 'What the hell is he wearing? And why's Duncan got an eye patch?' She grinned. 'They look like extra's from Black sails.'
Miles strode towards them wearing a wide grin although there were dark circles under his eyes. His hair was a black, windblown mess. Looming tall, rangy and dark, his long black leather duster belled out behind him, white shirt open at the neck showing black slivers of a few of his tatts and a leather thong with his lucky pendant gleamed at the hollow of his throat. He was wearing what looked like a real sword hanging from a belt at his side.
Duncan was in pirate black too, frock coat, skin tight, laced and ripped leather pants complete with thigh high boots and a black leather eye patch over one eye. The other eye was a little bloodshot but still full of her usual confidence and self-possession. She had a pair of knives in crossed belts slung low over her hips along with what had to be a repro flintlock pistol. She swept up to them and struck a pose, one hand high in the air, 'Hey there, do you like it? we thought we'd dress for the occasion…'
Bass looked from one to the other, quizzical, 'pirates? you've got to be kidding me.'
Will was looking at Miles' sword, eyes avid, 'is that a real one, man?' He scowled up at Bass. 'Why didn't you tell me we could dress up, I'd've brought my own stuff.' His eyes softened, 'I've got this sweet katana…'
Miles drew his sword with a flourish, 'I bought it in Vegas, Will, and the guy swore it was genuine,' he grinned and shrugged, 'although I gotta admit it bends if you're not careful with it, so I've kinda got my doubts.'
Will's lips twisted in disgust and disappointment. 'Shit Miles… never thought I'd see you wearing a pussy sword.'
Chuckling, Miles sheathed the sword, 'never thought I'd be wearing one either.'
Bass cleared his throat, 'hate to break this up, but we need to get going.' He glanced at Miles, 'Drexel's guys could always die laughing I guess.'
Miles shrugged again.'Don't be a douche, Bass, I'm celebrating.' But he hoisted his duffel bag over one shoulder then picked up the expensive leather overnighter sitting at his feet, handing it to Duncan, 'Ok, I'm ready, so what's the plan?'
Will grunted, 'we're gonna let him and his guys into the house so we can catch him trying to steal Bill's rum, then Bill and his guys can arrest him.'
'That's your plan?' Miles glared at him, then at Bass, 'really?'
Bass looked him up and down, an eyebrow lifting, 'you're the one who brought a knife to a gunfight brother.' He turned to the door, looking back over his shoulder, 'I'm thinking Ramadi?'
Miles stopped glaring, then he nodded, 'ok, that should work.'
Duncan looked from one to the other, exasperated, 'you're talking in cities again. You two do that all the time and it's very annoying.'
Bass turned to Miles, 'do we really do it all the time?'
Miles twitched an eyebrow, 'I wouldn't say that much.'
Will chuckled, 'It's kind of cute actually.'
'Cute? it's a way of communicating strategy without having to go through all the bullshit.' Bass sounded offended.
Penny rolled her eyes and strode over to Duncan, 'hey, whatever gets the job done, yeah? But we'd better go, Duncan. Charlie and Becca are gonna meet us up in Bec's dad's office.'
The other woman flung the overnighter over her shoulder, 'ok, but damn…it sounds like things are going to be much more fun down here.'
'I know, but you said you'd help me guard Charlie.'
Duncan sighed heavily, 'alright.' then she sniffed, 'but I bet we're gonna be bored as hell and it's a complete waste of this outfit.' She flipped the eyepatch up and off, dropping it into her bag, then carefully stroked her eyebrow and leaned towards Penny, 'is my make up ok?'
Penny squinted, eyes serious and focused as she examined Duncan's face, which was perfectly made up as usual. Then she nodded, 'It's good.' She turned for the door, dreads swinging, 'don't worry, boss. Bill's got cctv, we can watch from up there.'
Duncan brightened and followed her out, 'good, maybe we can actually get some usable footage out of all this.' She grinned back at Miles, nodded at Bass and winked at Will, 'make it real for the cameras, guys.'
Bass rolled his eyes, 'you won't be able to use any pictures you get, you know that.' But he was talking to the air.
….
Penny opened the door of Bill's wood panelled office, the assorted smells of old books, polished wood, leather and whisky wafting into her nose. She sneezed and waved her hand in front of her face. 'Damn, this is so last millenium.'
Duncan brushed past her, dropping Miles' bag onto a huge chesterfield lounge sitting against the panelled wall, looking around, 'actually most of it is,' she stroked a hand gently over the mellow patina of the wooden dado, her eyes sweeping over the large Persian rug on the floor, gleaming in vibrant shades of crimson, blue, orange and cream. 'Beautiful…'
Penny shrugged and went over to the very modern computer standing on the antique desk, flinging herself down onto the leather office chair and turning it on, 'I guess. If you like that kind of thing. Anyway, Bill said he had an app to manage the cctv.' She tapped a few keys, 'and here it is.' A triumphant, white toothed smile flashed in Duncan's direction, 'we can see anything we want from right here.' She studied the screen and the small figures on it, 'there's Connor, he and Jeremy are just loading some of the rum onto the E. Scanlon's got his medic kit and he's heading out to join the others at the tunnel, and Bill and his mounties are on the roof doing their cover thing.' She hummed, concentrating, tapping a few more keys, 'I can't see Bass, Miles or Will yet, they must still be in the house. Wait a minute… There they are, and there are some empty boats moored just off shore, but I can't see any of the bad guys.'
Duncan frowned, 'maybe they're still in the tunnel?'
Penny nodded, 'maybe.' She leaned closer to the screen, 'wait a minute…there's Charlie and Becca, they're in the courtyard, looking at some big old sculpture.' She glanced up at Duncan, confused, 'why the fuck are they doing that now? They're supposed to be on their way up here.' She looked back at the screen, her body going stiff. 'Shit…Duncan, you need to see this, there are guys coming out from underneath the stone thingy.'
'What?' Duncan's frown got deeper as she went up behind Penny, bending so she could see the screen. She paled, 'it's Drexel and his merc's, and they've got Charlie.' She grabbed her bag.
…
Bass had cold murder in his eyes, the blue harsh and icy, his lips tight, fingers tense and white around his phone.
Miles took it out of his hands, 'give me that, you moron, you're gonna break it.'
Will was flipping a knife round and round with lightening flashes of sharp edged steel, 'so what are we waiting for? Let's go kill the fucker.'
Miles nodded, 'Jeremy's on his way and he's bringing the others.' He gave the phone back to Bass and started back up along the path up to the house. 'Let's go, we'll meet them up there.'
'Drexel will want her to take him to the rum.' Bass was just behind him, his gun ready in his hand.
'Which is exactly what we need her to do.'
'If the bastard does anything to hurt her…' Bass' voice was a hard promise.
Miles glanced back, his face set in harsh lines. 'He won't. We won't let him.' But he couldn't keep the worry out of his voice.
'So how psycho is this guy anyway?' Will moved up to take point, his movements smooth, economical. He opened the big back door into the boot room, scoping the hall beyond then moving in, pausing as the others got in too. 'I'll go have a look around.'
Bass pushed past Miles to go next, graceful and dangerous in his black tee and jeans, 'about as psycho as they come apparently.' He speared a glance back over his shoulder, 'although Miles sort of forgot to mention that little detail when he sent Charlie and me along to his little private island for a fucking party…'
The Pirate outfit making him look like something from a movie against the backdrop of the old house, Miles returned the glance, pained. 'How was I to know you two'd go all white hat on a fucking treasure hunt and that Captain Hook'd want in?'
Bass shrugged, brushing past a tall bookshelf on his way down the hall and putting out an arm to stop a vase falling from a shelf, 'you could've warned me. Just saying.'
'I thought you knew, and I thought Charlie'd be safe with you.'
Bass spun on his heel, his hand going around Miles' throat, slamming him against the wall, his eyes burning blue as he pressed close, body rigid with tension. 'Well she wasn't, was she. I left her alone for five fucking minutes and he got to her…'
Miles stared back, dark eyes boring into light, letting him do it, not even trying to get free. 'Bass, we'll get her back. I promise. We'll get her back.'
Bass took a long, shuddering breath in, eyes a swimming, electric blue, his hand sliding down over Miles' shoulder to his bicep, fingers tight around the thick muscle.'I'm sorry Miles. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have let her out of my sight. What if she loses the baby? What if I lose her?'
Miles put a hand over his, gripping tight. 'We won't let anything happen to either of them Bass. Charlie's strong. She'll be ok, the baby'll be ok. And Jim's there too, remember. He'll make sure nothing happens to her.'
Will came back at a trot and broke in, his voice a harsh, panting whisper, 'Sorry to interrupt guys, but I think it's party time.' He gestured with his gun, 'Jer, Scanlon and Connor are just behind us, they'll be here any minute,' then he tipped his head in the other direction, 'and I spotted the bad guys coming in from the courtyard and heading towards the cellar.' His eyes hardened, 'they've tied and gagged the girls but both of 'em look ok.' He smiled, just a little, eyes glinting, 'Jim's with 'em and he's wearing that look he gets when he's ready to carve out a few living hearts.'
Bass took a deep, steadying breath and straightened up, letting go of Miles, his eyes hard, unforgiving blue. 'Not if I get to them first.'
There was the sound of footsteps behind them as Jeremy and Connor came running up the hall just ahead of Scanlon, Bill and a half dozen very capable looking, well-armed men and women filling up the hallway behind them and making it seem small.
Miles grunted, stripping off the fake sword belt and dropping it on the ground although the lack of a sword didn't make him look any less dangerous. 'Looks like the gang's all here, time to move out.'
Jeremy was panting just a little as he got to them, anxious, 'we need to hurry guys, I tried to tell Duncan and Penny to stay where they were and wait for us, but you know those two.'
The corners of Miles' mouth twitched, 'I gave up trying to tell Duncan to do anything a long time ago.'
Connor leaned forward on his knees, catching his breath as he looked up at Bass and rolled his eyes, expression hovering somewhere between pride and deep worry, 'I've never heard Penny so pissed.'
Bill joined them, his face grim. 'I've just sent out for some more guys, they're on their way. We just need to catch the bastard with his hands on the bottles, we've already got him and his guys on film for B&E, trespassing, kidnap and assault but that'll put the icing on the cake.' He turned to Bass. 'He's got my daughter and your wife, why are we still here?'
…
As two of Drexel's men pulled them along through the house towards the cellar steps by the ropes tied around their wrists, Charlie was working very hard at staying calm, imagining she was at work, cameras tracking her face, the need to keep herself together, to follow the script… She glanced over at Rebecca, the girl was frightened but walking head high, steps firm. Charlie caught her eyes and smiled over the cloth of the gag, trying to reassure her. Bass and Miles would be there soon, Bill too. She had absolutely no doubt of it. They just had to hold on.
Rebecca gave her a tiny nod, the brown eyes angry and determined under the fear.
Charlie nodded back, relieved that Bec was doing ok. She was also very aware of Jim Hudson walking along behind her, a solid wall of muscle and comfort, very glad he was there although she was careful not to look his way, not wanting to draw anyone's attention to him. Especially not Drexel's. She glanced up at their captor.
The tall slim man with green, unnervingly staring eyes was striding along beside her humming something that sounded like it was from an opera and spinning an expensive looking gun round and round in one hand.
They reached the stairs and just before she started down Charlie noticed a small strand of bright silver and coral beads looped around the stair rail. She caught her breath, they were the same beads Penny used in her hair… She looked around, carefully, but couldn't see anything, yet anyway, especially with all of Drexel's men crowding around. But even though she couldn't she felt better.
The blond, nordic looking guy pulling her along tugged on her rope, impatient.
She followed him down the steps, Rebecca close behind her.
Jim Hudson hovered at the top of the stairs for a moment, scanning the hall and visible rooms, ignoring the four men Drexel had left to guard the stairs. His eyes settled on a flash of bright dreads, just visible behind the door to the big drawing room and he let himself smile just a little. He liked Penny, she was one of the best natural fighters he'd seen in a while. Then he saw Bass, Miles and what looked like a whole platoon coming from the back of the house. About fucking time. He made his move.
…..
Penny watched from behind a door as the creeps who'd got Charlie passed them by and turned to Duncan, flattened against the wall beside her, her voice a careful whisper, 'He's leaving two on guard at the top of the stairs, I'm going to take them out, ok?'
Duncan frowned and hissed back, 'shouldn't we wait until Miles and the others get here?'
'Hell no, I can take two with my eyes closed.' Then she groaned, 'no…wait a minute, there's two more staying behind. Shit. I can't take four on my own.'
Duncan had a quick look and grinned, 'you won't have to, there's Jim and he's calling us in.'
….
The four guards were too busy staring at the two gorgeous women sauntering towards them to take much notice of what was coming up behind them, and the two at the back were unconscious and on the floor before they knew that Jim was even there.
The two at the front weren't quite as lucky, from almost a standing start, Penny was suddenly airborne and flying into an elegant back flip, wrapping the first man around the neck with her legs, cutting off any voice as well as his breath then landing on him with her full weight on his chest and a forearm under his throat driving out any air he might have had left.
The second man had opened his mouth to sound the alarm but found himself staring down the blade of Duncan's very real, non-costume and extremely sharp dagger. Then Jim slid a heavy arm around his throat and a moment later he was lying with the others on the floor.
Duncan slid the knife back in its sheath with a businesslike snick, 'well, that was fun…'
…
In the cellar, Drexel stared at the crates and the bottles lying cradled in their cushions of straw and foam. His eyes were soft, almost reverent and his lips were curved in a smile of mixed satisfaction and lust. He reached out a hand and stroked one of the bottles with the back of a finger. 'Beautiful aren't they?'
Charlie muttered something past the wad of cloth in her mouth.
He spared her a quick glance, 'What was that, Mrs Monroe? Oh, I'm sorry…of course you can't say anything. With that gag I mean. But I couldn't have you calling out to your annoyingly persistent husband, could I?'
She shrugged and decided to keep quiet, for now anyway. Once Bass arrived all bets were off.
Rebecca stepped forward, almost barging into Drexel, vibrating with anger. Her dark eyes glaring up at him above her gag, full of fury and defiance. 'Mmmff….'
He laughed, delighted. 'My you're a feisty little thing, aren't you?' He patted her on the head then stroked her cheek with a forefinger. His eyes were full of something that made Charlie's blood run cold as she watched his fingers move round to cup Rebecca's chin then stroke down her throat… 'Maybe you'd like to come to another party?' He leaned in a little closer. 'This time you could stay longer, with me. We could have a lot of fun.' He licked his lips, leaving a wet trail.
Rebecca reared back away from his hand, shaking her head frantically from side to side. 'Mmmmff… mmff'.
Charlie tried to catch the younger girl's eye, to warn her to keep quiet. Drexel was unpredictable and probably certifiable. Anything she did could send him over the edge and then he might actually hurt her.
But after a long moment, Drexel let go then smiled and turned back to the bottles. 'But we can talk about that later, right now I need to get my rum away from this stupid island before your dad and his new friends get back.' He patted the nearest one, his smile becoming almost tender, 'poor babies, they need to be taken care of properly, like the treasures they are,' he picked up some of the packing and flung it away with a look of disdain, 'not wrapped up like whores in this cheap crap.'
….
Bass was churning up inside, eyes fixed on the dark space across the room that led to the cellar where Drexel was holding Charlie. His whole being wanted to rage down those stairs, guns blazing to save his wife and kill the crazy bastard who took her. He changed position slightly, tension and adrenaline making it hard to stay still. This was turning into the longest wait of his entire fucking life.
Miles nudged him, 'Bass, you need to keep it together. We have to wait till they come up with the girls and the rum, if we try to do anything down there they could get hurt or worse.'
Bass nodded once, short and sharp, 'I know,' but his tension showed in the lines around his mouth and eyes, and in the fists clenched at his sides.
Bill glanced round, his face pale and strained. 'Doesn't mean we have to like it though, the thought of that man anywhere near my daughter is making me sick to the stomach.' He went back to staring at the stairs to the cellars, speaking over his shoulder. 'By the way, I just heard from the guys we sent to seal off the entrance to the other tunnel. They've done it. The bastard doesn't have a choice, there's only one way out.'
'Good.' Miles glanced at him, 'and he'll have seen all the boats leaving so he won't be expecting this many of us to be up here waiting for him.'
'He's gonna use Charlie and Rebecca as human shields. Y'know that don't you.' Jeremy came up behind them, Scanlon and Connor just behind him.
Bass swung round and glared. 'Thanks for pointing out the fucking obvious, Jer'.
Jeremy held his hands up in surrender, frowning as he took in the bone deep worry on Bass' face. 'Sorry Boss, that was a stupid thing to say.'
Connor came up close, 'Dad, it's gonna be ok. Penny and Duncan are with Jim, they're hiding in a storeroom on the next landing down and they're gonna grab Charlie and Bec while we take care of Drexel and the others.' His lips curved a little, dark eyes gleaming. 'hey… Duncan managed to get a vid of Penny going after one of the guards? It's awesome.'
Bass took a deep breath in and nodded, glancing back at his son and his right hand man. 'Thanks, both of you, and I'm sorry I snapped at you, Jer.' He turned back to watching the stairs again, anxiety and impatience in every line of his muscular body.
Jeremy cleared his throat, 'it's ok, I deserved it, I'm an idiot…'
Connor shot him a sympathetic look.
Bill held a hand up for attention, reading a text on his phone. Then he turned, a grim smile curving the corners of his mouth. 'Ok, they're moving out. It's showtime.'
…
Drexel yanked on the ropes he was leading the girls with, ignoring the gasps as the ropes dug into the soft skin of wrist and hand. He was pissed, somehow the other tunnel had been closed off, damn the O'Hallorans. So that meant they had to go out the way they came in. He yanked again, just because he could.
Charlie lurched up another step and tried to forget the pain in her wrists, the bad taste in her mouth from the gag and the ache in her shoulders and back from being pulled along and not being able to keep her balance properly. Her toes hurt in her light sneakers from being bumped on what felt like every step. She really needed to pee too and she was getting worried that all this might affect her baby, might make something go wrong. It was so early, so new… She glanced down at Rebecca.
The girl was sticking as close as she could to Charlie, which wasn't too hard as Drexel had sent the other guys to help carry the crate containing the rum, then tied their ropes together so he could pull them along by himself.
Rebecca was still walking tall, but her fear was beginning to show through the defiance in her eyes.
Charlie tried to smile for her again, but damn it, her cheeks hurt, her wrists hurt, her fingers had gone numb and she was really, really looking forward to getting rescued. She glanced around, Drexel's other men were coming up behind the men carrying the crate, marching in loose and almost casual formation, although their weapons were very real. She hoped Jim had passed on how many there were. She checked the stairs above them, he'd stayed behind with the men Drexel had left on guard at the top of the stairs. A little smile curved her lips around the gag, if she could place a bet, it'd be that none of the four guards were still vertical. Jim was very efficient.
They had almost reached the landing on the way up when someone let the crate slip, almost dropping it onto the stone steps. One of the men swore…
Drexel swung round, snarling, his face a mask of fury and his gun pointing straight at the startled men on the steps below. 'You idiots, those bottles are irreplaceable, if there's a scratch on any one of them I'll take it out of your fucking hides.' His voice was harsh, a hissing whisper.
None of them said anything aloud, but there was a shuffle of boots on stone and assorted muttering as they got the crate back under control.
Then they all continued up the stairs, the old fashioned sconces with their cloudy glass covers casting flickering shadows on the walls…
Charlie followed Drexel up the last step onto the landing before the last flight up to the ground floor where they'd come in, Rebecca right beside her. She vaguely noticed a door ajar to her right, maybe it led to a storeroom? or a broom cupboard? Then she saw a hand come reaching out holding a large, sharp looking knife. The knife flashed through the ropes holding she and Rebecca to Drexel and then, almost faster than she could follow she and Becc were swung into a dimly lit space and the door was slammed shut behind them. Her eyes went wide when she was pushed gently but firmly aside as Penny shoved the old metal chair she'd found in the corner of the room under the door handle, ignoring the yells of anger coming from outside.
'Hi sugar.' Penny's familiar greeting was a little strained, maybe because she was leaning her full weight against the door to keep it from being opened by a furious Drexel…
Charlie ripped off the gag as soon as Duncan sliced through the ropes around her wrists, a grin spreading across her face as she joined Penny in leaning against the door, it rattled and shook under her. 'Am I glad to see you two.' She glanced back at Rebecca.
The younger girl was standing wide-eyed, holding her hands out to let Duncan set her free too. Her brilliant and awe-struck gaze going from Penny, then pirate queen Duncan and back again.
Then it sounded as though all hell broke loose outside the door.
….
Bass felt a cold, hard smile curve his lips as he watched Bill's men take charge of Drexel and his mercs, herding them all onto boats to go back to the mainland for processing. The look of shock on Drexel's face when he saw him and Miles together was almost worth the fear and cold fury Bass had been nursing in the pit of his stomach for Charlie. Almost.
It had almost felt like an anti-climax when most of Drexel's mercenaries gave up and abandoned him without a fight, especially when they realised that Jim Hudson was fighting on the other side. A few of them hadn't given up though, and for a few, hectic and violent minutes the stairs had been full of fighting men and women.
But after it was over, Drexel had seemed more worried about protecting the old bottles of rum than the fact that he was under arrest, he'd been intent on making sure everyone knew how precious they were, how fragile. Even when he found out that Rebecca had wired herself for sound and recorded everything, the kidnap, the plans to steal the rum, everything, it didn't seem to matter, until she told him they were donating half of the find to their local museum. The police took him out yelling something about the rum being his, that his name should be on the collection, not O'Halloran…
Bass had almost felt sorry for him. Almost, not quite. His arm tightened around Charlie as they headed back to Bill's office with the others and he bent to press a kiss on her hair. Relief and adrenaline still surging round his body…
She hummed and leaned into him, wrapping her arms more firmly around his waist. She wasn't planning on letting go for some time yet.
….
Bill stood at his oak desk and carefully and gently eased the old but still firm cork out of the neck of the thick, greenish blue glass bottle with his thumbs. There was a faint sound, almost like a sigh as it slipped out. He held the bottle up to the sunlight coming in through the window and there was a flash of pure gold from the liquid swirling inside…
An echoing sigh whispered around the room.
Will leaned forward, eager. 'Well? what do you think? is it still good?'
Miles peered over from his position between Duncan and Connor, who had an arm round Penny on his other side, 'looks fine to me, let's try it.' He picked up a glass from the tray in the middle of the desk and held it out…
Duncan frowned up at him, 'Philistine, this is historic. When that rum was bottled this was a whole other world…' She picked up a glass too, aiming a sultry smile at Bill, 'but hey, the day's wasting.'
Scanlon let out a little sigh, 'it almost makes me want to start drinking again.'
Jeremy grinned at him, 'wow, you mean two hundred year old rum is nearly good enough to enter the temple of your body?'
Scanlon made a face, but his lips were twitching, 'almost, but Simon wouldn't cook me anything for a week if he found out I'd drunk alcohol.'
Bass chuckled, his chin resting on the top of Charlie's smiling blond head, his arms around her waist, 'Charlie and I won't be having any either, Scan,' he glanced around the room, 'so we'll have to rely on the rest of you to know what it's like.'
'It could be undrinkable,' Jim turned from where he was checking out the crowded shelves of books, 'maybe one person should try it first, just in case it's turned into poison or something.'
Miles threw him a look of disgust, 'poison? Jim, that's ridiculous, alcohol lasts for years, it's a preservative for fuck's sake.'
Will snorted and rubbed a hand over his face, 'hasn't preserved me yet and I've been drinking it for years.'
Everyone laughed…
Bill sniffed the bottle, his eyes half closing. 'It sure doesn't smell like poison.' he looked around. So who is going to join me in partaking of this fine vintage?'
Before anyone could answer, the door flew open and Rebecca burst in, her face glowing, 'dad, mom and Jack are here.'
A small, slim and lovely but tired looking woman in jeans and sweater followed her in, blond hair tied back in a careless knot at the back of her head. She was carrying a young boy, not much more than a toddler and very thin in a warm winter jacket, his face, except for big blue eyes almost hidden by a bright red beanie and matching scarf. The woman's eyes widened when she saw the room full of people, 'Bill? Bec said something about you finding some kind of treasure? and that you were finally putting that creep Drexel in jail?' She glanced around, friendly but curious. 'Hi folks, I'm Ellen and this is Jack.'
Charlie lifted a hand and waved, 'Hi.' Her eyes went to the little boy and her heart ached for him and his family. He looked pale and tired, leaning against his mom's shoulder, his eyes drooping and when the beanie slipped a little, the small head was bare and smooth, vulnerable. Her breath caught on the lump in her throat and she felt Bass' arms tighten around her, felt his lips, gentle on the back of her neck, knew he was feeling the same.
There was a chorus of quiet greetings from around the room.
Bill passed the bottle to Will, who just happened to be closest, and went to greet her, his arms going gently round the both of them. 'Hi hon,' He kissed her and then bent and pressed his lips to the little boy's forehead. 'Hi there, Beaver.'
The boy looked up, a smiling lighting the small face. 'Hi, daddy.'
Will cleared his throat, holding the bottle of rum up, 'I'll pour us a drink then, shall I?'
…..
Bass fell back against the pillows in their cabin on the M, his breath coming in hard gasps as the bright, intense waves pleasure rolled over him.
Charlie's hands slid up over his belly to his chest as she nuzzled her way up from where she'd been busy between his legs. 'Mmm… have to admit I love having you all to myself again.'
He chuckled, getting his breath back, 'not gonna argue with that.' He ran his fingers through her hair and over her shoulders. 'it was a good night though, wasn't it?'
She kissed his belly button, her tongue dipping in, circling, teeth nibbling and making him gasp, her eyes bright and wicked looking up at him, 'I bet there'll be a few sore heads tomorrow morning though, Miles said the rum was seriously strong and Bill said they could have the bottle.
'Do you remember Will challenging Miles to a duel? With swords? but Duncan wouldn't give him her sword, so then he was going to use kitchen knives because Bass wouldn't let him go to the boat to get his own.'
Charlie laughed, 'I think it was something Miles said about one of Will's ex wives.'
'Yeah,' Bass pulled her up into kissing range, 'and Connor said he'd be Miles' second, and Duncan said she'd be Will's because she said Miles was being a dick,' he shook his head, 'and Penny said they had to go out onto the lawn so they didn't get blood on the carpet.'
'Then Jeremy had a hissy fit over Connor and Bec wanting to film it, said something about 'plausible deniability.' She ran a hand up his cheek, her fingers playing with the curls above his ear. 'Then you stepped in and said if anyone did any duelling they'd be on desk duty for the next year… and you told Miles to apologise to Will.'
'Which he did, because he knows I could tell Duncan a couple of things about him that'd curl even her hair… And meanwhile Jim and Bill were so busy arguing over how many people Stephen King really is they missed the whole thing.'
Charlie's eyes fell, 'so did Ellen, I was talking to her for a while. She's lovely, and so's Jack, the poor little thing. She left to put him to bed before all that happened though. I can't imagine how hard it's been for all of them.' Dammit she was tearing up again. She leaned into Bass, enjoying his warmth, his solid strength, the vibrant life in him. 'I'm so glad we helped find the rum for them.'
He held her tight, his lips skating over her hair, 'yeah, so am I, they'll be able to keep their island and get whatever treatment Jack needs without having to worry about money.'
'And Duncan's going to help Bec and Connor produce the story of the lost treasure of Bill Johnstone, pirate.' She grinned, 'Bec's already got someone in mind to play the part of Bill Johnstone in the movie version.'
'Has she? Who?'
Charlie snuggled closer, 'there's this gorgeous Australian actor, tall, blond, with beautiful blue eyes,' she trailed her lips up over his throat, her eyes laughing up at him, 'he looks a lot like you actually.'
Bass chuckled, 'really?' He shifted a little, reaching out to open the top drawer of the little cupboard beside the bed, taking out a small package. 'Hey…I've got something for you.' He pressed it into her hand. 'I asked Miles to fetch it from home for me.'
She slithered round so she could use both hands to open it, 'what is it?'
'Open it and see.'
Her fingers made quick work of untying the white silk ribbon and she opened the box, her lips parting in a gasp. 'Oh…Bass, it's beautiful.' She lifted the shimmering gold chain, the diamond drop hanging from it swaying and catching the light in dazzling rainbows.
'It was my mom's, dad gave it to her when they found out she was having me.' His hands moved gently, possessively over her belly.
Charlie felt her eyes fill, 'I love it.' she pulled him down for a kiss, 'and I love you too.'
Bass kissed her back, enjoying having her to himself too and very glad that Drexel was finally heading for jail - which he was, Bill had sent a text confirming it, he'd been ruled a flight risk, so no bail either. They could all relax. He held her close, his hands roaming her smooth curves, her soft skin…'We've still got two weeks before we have to head back, what do you want to do next?'
Charlie stretched back against the pillows, feeling blissfully sated and luxuriously tired, 'Becca was telling me about an island up river that's supposed to be haunted by the ghosts of civil war soldiers, there's an old fort and it's supposed to be really creepy, lots of weird things happen there. I'd love to film it, maybe do a story for Duncan…' she reached up a hand and ruffled his beard. 'What d'you think? Do you feel like another adventure?'
He chuckled into her hair, 'life with you is an adventure, Charlie, but I love anything about the Civil war, so let's do it…'
…..
The end, for now anyway - there is more to this story of course in the last few chapters of 'A thousand eyes…'
Thanks SO much for sticking with me on this, you are awesome. I loved writing this story, the Thousand Islands is a place I simply have to visit some day - so much history and so beautiful… I loved getting all the guys together, although in a short story there wasn't room to give them nearly enough to do, damn it… Anyway, hope to see you again sometime, love, Magpie
